CLARK, NJ — From game one on Tuesday, April 1, to game No. 30 on Wednesday, June 4, the Arthur L. Johnson High School Crusaders proved to be one of the best softball teams in the state.
There’s no denying that.
Ranked in the state’s Top 20 for most of the season, the 2025 campaign turned out to be one of the best seasons in program history.
Arthur L. Johnson, although it did not win the Union County Tournament championship for the first time since 2016, led Union County in wins with 26, won the Union County Conference’s Watchung Division title outright at 12-2 and repeated as Central Jersey, Group 2 sectional state champions.
One of only three teams in Union County to reach 20 wins, Arthur L. Johnson did it for a second straight season and led Union County with a final 26-4 record. Arthur L. Johnson went 20-12 last year.
The only other Union County teams to win 20 games this year were Summit High School at 20-9 and Scotch Plains–Fanwood High School at 20-7.
Summit was the team that upset host Arthur L. Johnson, 3-2, in the UCT quarterfinals on Tuesday, May 13. Scotch Plains–Fanwood handed Arthur L. Johnson its final regular season loss, a 5-2 defeat in 10 innings in Scotch Plains, back on April 25.
It was then Scotch Plains–Fanwood defeating Summit, 4-2, on Tuesday, May 20, at Kean University’s Cougar Field in Union in the UCT final. It was only the second time Scotch Plains–Fanwood won the crown and the first time since 1977, the second year of the event. Summit was that close to capturing its first county championship.
Arthur L. Johnson began the season with a 7-0 record, before suffering its first loss, a 7-5 decision at Governor Livingston High School on Thursday, April 17. Arthur L. Johnson split with Governor Livingston and Scotch Plains–Fanwood in UCC–Watchung play, beating both teams at home by scores of 14-3 against Governor Livingston in the season-opener on Tuesday, April 1, and 6-2 against Scotch Plains–Fanwood exactly a week later.
In between the Scotch Plains–Fanwood loss and the Summit UCT setback, Arthur L. Johnson won 10 straight, including winning six of those games by shutout.
After beating Delran High School, 5-4, at home on Friday, June 6, for its sixth straight win and to repeat as Central Jersey, Group 2 sectional state champions, Arthur L. Johnson was then faced with playing South Jersey, Group 2 sectional state champion Gloucester High School again in the Group 2 semifinals. In last year’s Group 2 semifinal at Arthur L. Johnson, it was Gloucester winning 5-3.
Last week, this time at Gloucester, on Wednesday, June 11, Gloucester held on for a 5-4 victory, after Arthur L. Johnson scored a single run in the top of the seventh. The Crusaders were that close to reaching the Group 2 final for the first time since the 2016 squad, which finished 24-9, accomplished such a feat.
Standout right-hander Cassie Conforti once again proved to be among the best pitchers in the area. Conforti struck out 183 batters in 167 innings and finished with a sparkling 1.34 earned-run average.
“It’s no secret that the success of a softball team starts with a good pitcher,” Arthur L. Johnson head coach Chris Di Nucci said. “Cassie has been our catalyst since last year.”
At the plate, Conforti was also one of Arthur L. Johnson’s leaders. Conforti led the Crusaders in hits with 45, RBI with 34, home runs with seven and a batting average of .455.
Elizabeth Yanni, a junior, paced the Crusaders in runs scored with 36, while freshman shortstop Giuliana Hamm, who also pitched, banged out the most singles with 33. Elizabeth Fitzharris, also a junior, was second in singles with 32.
Yanni also paced Arthur L. Johnson in doubles with 14, walks with 18 and was second in home runs with five and second in batting average at .441.
“It always comes down to having good players and our players want to win,” Di Nucci said.
With competitors such as Conforti, Yanni, Hamm and Fitzharris returning, in addition to sophomore Gianna Calleja, junior Annabella DeMartinis, sophomore Courtney Kilmer, sophomore Addison Meyer and sophomore Ava Todaro, Arthur L. Johnson might prove to be an even tougher out, once the 2026 season commences next April.